Scaling in Biology

Edited by James H. Brown and Geoffrey B. West

Description

Scaling relationships have been a persistent theme in biology at least since the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo. Because scaling relationships are among the most general empirical patterns in biology, they have stimulated research to develop mechanistic hypotheses and mathematical models. While there have been many excellent empirical and theoretical investigations, there has been little attempt to synthesize this diverse but interrelated area of biology. In an effort to fill this void, Scaling in Biology, the first general treatment of scaling in biology in over 15 years, covers a broad spectrum of the most relevant topics in a series of chapters written by experts in the field. Some of those topics discussed include allometry and fractal structure, branching of vascular systems of mammals and plants, biomechanical and life history of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, and species-area patterns of biological diversity. Many more examples are included within this text to complete the broader picture. Scaling in Biology conveys the diversity, promise, and excitement of current research in this area, in a format accessible to a wide audience of not only specialists in the various sub-disciplines, but also students and anyone with a serious interest in biology.

Scaling in Biology

Edited by James H. Brown and Geoffrey B. West

Table of Contents

1: Preface 2: Scaling in Biology: Patterns and Processes, Causes and Consequences 3: Allometry and Natural Selection 4: Hovering and Jumping: Contrasting Problems in Scaling 5: Scaling of Terrestrial Support 6: Consequences of Size Change during Ontogeny and Evolution 7: The Origin of Universal Scaling Laws in Biology 8: Scaling and Invariants in Cardiovascular Biology 9: Vascular System of the Human Heart 10: Constrained Constructive Optimization of Arterial Tree Models 11: Quarter-Power Allometric Scaling in Vascular Plants 12: Twigs, Trees, and the Dynamics of Carbon in the Landscape 13: Cell Size, Shape, and Fitness in Evolving Populations of Bacteria 14: Does Body Size Optimization Alter the Allometries for Production and Life History Traits? 15: Why and How Phylogenetic Relationships Should Be Incorporated into Studies of Scaling 16: Individual Energy Use and the Allometry of Population Density 17: Scaling in Biology, from Organisms to Ecosystem 18: Scaling and Self-Similarity in Species Distributions